Portable electric-lighting apparatus.



No. 744,530. PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903.

E. R. GILL.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHTING APPARATUS;

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1902.

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PATBNTED NOV. 17, 1903..

VP. R. GILL.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 7, 1902.

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Patented November 17, 1903.

- "UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFEE' EDWIN R. GILL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRIC CONTRACT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC-LIGHTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,530, dated November17, 1903.

' Application filed April '7, 1902. Serial No. 101,681. (No model.)

'To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN R. GILL, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city,

county, and State of New York, have invented form in the accompanyingdrawings, where- Figure 1 is a central section of a portable electriccandle supplied with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the boxshown in Fig. 1 inverted and without the battery. Fig. 3 is a diagram ofcircuits shown in connection with an illuminated clock; and Fig.

4 is a partial view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a modified form ofswitch.

In Fig. 1 is shown an electric candle mounted upon a hollow stand 1,containing a battery of three cells 2 in an insulating-covering 3. Thewhole is held in place by a sliding cover l. are brought out at 5 and 6in the form of springs,which flatten down upon the side of the covering3 when the battery is pressed into the box 1 and secured by thecover 4.The candle comprises the usual shell 7, made to imitate a candle in formand color, and an electric lamp 8 of the ordinary incandescent type,having a central terminal at its bottom and a threaded exterior terminaladapted to be screwed into a corresponding socket 9.

I prefer to use an ornamentalholder of metal 10, having a metal cup 11supporting the shell 7. In the form shown theholder is secured in placeby means contributing to complete the circuit, as follows: Theshouldered nut 12 rests in the bottom of the cup 11 and provides meanswhereby the screw 13, having its head within the box or stand 1, is madeto screw 'down the candle-holder and secure it to said box. The metaltube-14: surrounds the nut 12, making electrical contact therewith, andthe socket 9 is supported at The two terminals of the battery the top ofsaid tube in electric contact with it. Current is thus carried to saidsocket and in atone lamp-terminal through the screw 13 and-the tube 14.,as hereinafter described.

The central lamp terminal is intended to touch the contact-piece 15 inthe center of the insulating-washer 16 within the socket 9, and currentis conveyed to said contact-piece by the insulated conductor 17, passinginto the tube 14 at 18 and up through its center. The assembling of myimproved electric candle is accomplished, preferably, as follows: Theholder and cup having been secured by the nut 12 and screw 13, the tube-14: is fitted over said nut, with the conductor 17 in place, the latterbeing carried out through the center of the holder, so as to extend intothe box or stand 1. '(See Fig. 2 I then pour into the bottom of the cupmelted 7o paraffin or an equivalent substance which can be made toharden inplace, as'shown at 19. Before this supporting material is hardI insert the bottom of the shell 7, as shown in Fig. 1, and the cementor paraffin on hardening then acts to support and secure both said shelland the tube 14. The lamp 8 is screwed into place last and can beremoved at any time.

Within the box a fiat conductor 20 is held by the screw 13 and ispreferably'secured by a screw or like conductin g-fastenin g 21 to thehandle 22 on top of the box. The conductor 20 is used for conveyingcurrent from one or the other terminal of the battery to the screw 13,-and thus to the lamp-socket. I prefer to accomplish this by using oneend of said conductor as a switch-terminal. In this case the conductor17 is connected to a suitable plate 23, adapted to make contact directlywith one 0 battery-terminal, as 5 in Fig. 2, when said battery is putinto the box.

In Figs. 2 and 4 I have shown two means whereby the plate 20 may be usedas a switchterminal. It is to be understood, however, that myinventioncovers the use of either 20 or 23 as a switch-terminal, but thatwhichever is SO used the other will preferably be em ployed to makedirect contact with a batteryterminal. In the form shown in Fig. 2theplate 20 has a spring-odset 24, turned up slightly at its tip, whichreaches-over the edge of the aperture opens into one end of the cavity25.

The female thread may be made in a socket Without departing from myinvention, which socket or bushing may be inserted in the box; but Iprefer the form shown, wherein the thread is out directly in the wood ofthe box side, as shown. The bottom of the stem 27 bears upon thedownturned spring batteryterminal 6, (see Fig. 1,) and the resilience ofsaid terminal is preferably employed to produce by pressure upon the endof said stem a frictional resistance, which prevents looseness andconsequent accidental swinging. Upon the top of the stem 27 is a button28, whereby the switch may be conveniently rotated by the fingers. Thestem 27 passes through the swinging terminal or tongue 26 and issoldered or otherwise secured thereto. Thus by turning the button 28 theterminal 26 is brought against the terminal 24 or away from it to lightor to extinguish the lamp.

The advantage derived from the described construction of my switch liesin the absence of the annoying pin-stops near the button, which catchthe fingers and detract from neatness of appearance, and in the simpleprovision for securing firm longitudinal resistance in the stem 27without special additional devices for that purpose. The function of thediscarded pin-stops is supplied by the sides of the cavity 25, and thethreads into which the stem 27 is screwed provide a perfect means forpreventing all sliding up and down of the stem 27. At the same time thenecessary resistance to motion providing against looseness andaccidental swinging is provided by the upward pressure of thebattery-terminal 6.

In the form shown in Fig. 2 circuit-closing is accomplished by turningthe stem 27 and button 28 to the left. My invention is broad enough tocover this construction; but I prefer to arrange the parts as shown inFig. 4., wherein the stem 27 must be turned to the right to close thecircuit. This arrangement is preferable with aright-handed screw-thread, for the reason that said threads then act to move the stem 27slightly downward when circuit is closed, thus-increasing instead ofdecreasing the pressure upon both the terminals 6 and 24, (or 20 whengood contact is desirable.) Fig. 4 also shows the arrangement of theplate 20 so that it acts directly as a part of the switch without use ofan offset 24:. It will indeed be possible to make a variety of obviousarrangements of the plates, terminals, and conductors used with mydevice without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In Fig. 3 is shown the electric circuit as formed in my device, the samebeing there illustrated as applied to illumination of a clock 29. Asshown in Fig. 3 and in dot-ted lines in Fig. 2, I prefer to provide acentral hole or socket 30 in the top of the stem 27 or button 28 and asecond like socket in some convenient part on top of the box, as,preferably, in the handle 22. Fitting these sockets are two pins 32 and33 at the ends of the conductors of a cable 34;, terminating in apush-button or other circuit-closer 35. Since the stem 27 is always incontact with the battery-terminal 6, and the handle 22 is connected tothe plate 20 by the screw 21, it is evident that operation of thepush-button 35 has the same effect as turning the switch-tongue 26 andthat my device is thus easily adapted to be used with a supplementalcable and pushbutton where the light is to be commanded from a point ata distance.

A variety of changes may be made by those skilled in the art in thestructure herein shown and described without departing from the spiritof my invention, and I am not to be understood as limiting myself to thedetails thereof as herein shown and described.

What I claim is 1. In an electric candle, a lamp, an inner tubesupporting the same, a conductor passing from said lamp along and withinthe inner tube, an outer ornamental shell covering said inner tube andconductor, a holder for said shell, and a waxy material of such a natureas to easily melt at a temperature which will not injure the said shellor holder, said material joining said shell and holder as a cement,substantially as described.

2. An electric lamp, a stand and battery therefor, and a switch forcontrolling circuit through said lamp; in combination with a socket insaid switch, a second socket on said stand, a cable havingcircuit-closing means attached to one end thereof, and conducting meansat the other end of said cable fitting said sockets, substantially asdescribed.

3. An electric lamp, a stand therefor, a battery for said stand, aswitch for controlling circuit through said lamp, and a metallic handlefor said stand in permanent electric connection with one side of saidswitch; in combination with a socket in said handle, a second socket inthe otherside of said switch, a cable having circuit-closing meansattached at one end thereof, and conducting means at the other end ofsaid cable fitting said sockets, substantially as described.

4. In a portable electric light, a battery, a box therefor, and cavityon the inner face of one side of said box, a contact-spring extendingover said cavity, a swinging tongue within said cavity adapted to bestopped against the two sides thereof, and means passing through saidbox side and into said cavity for swinging said tongue, substantially asdescribed.

5. In an electric switch, a base therefor, 21.

cavity in said base, a contact-spring extending over said cavity, and aswinging tongue in said cavity adapted to be stoppedagainst the tWosides thereof; in combination with a stem screwing into said base, andpassing through the same, said stem being attached to said tongue foroperating it, substantially as described. I

6. In a portable electric light, a battery, and a casing therefor, afixed battery-terminal and a fixed switch-terminal under the

